ac|tu|al

ac|tu|al «AK chu uhl», adjective, noun.

–adj.

1. existing as a fact; real: »

What he told us was not a dream but an actual happening.

SYNONYM(S): true, genuine. See syn. under real¹. (Cf. ↑real)

2. now existing; present: »

the actual (not the past or future) state of affairs today.

SYNONYM(S): current.

3. Obsolete. active; practical.

–n.

Informal. a documentary film or broadcast.

╂[< Old French actuel, learned borrowing from Late Latin āctuālis practical < Latin āctus, -ūs a doing < agere do]

–ac´tu|al|ness, noun.